Motor-vehicle.



No. 652,486. Patented June 26, I900. R. M; OWEN.

MGTOB VEHICLE.

(Application filed Dec. 19, 1899.)

(No Modgl.) 5 Sheets-Sheet I.

mine 'ses, Ihvenian' M fiwamorzd M Owen.

ma scams PETERS Co, PNOYD-LITHQ wnsmucmu, o, c.

Patented June 26, I900.

v 5 Shgots$heet 2.

Ira/en Zor, Raymond M Owen,

R. m. OWEN. MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application filed Dec. 19, 1899.)

(No Model.)

minesses, M 9/2 &

No. 652,486. Patented June 26, won.

a. MHOWEN.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Agplicfition filed Dec. 19, 1899.) (No lloda l.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

WITNESSES: INVENTO R.

jpf Raymond .Mqzz/en,

' AT TORN;

Patented lune 26, I900. B. M. OWEN.

MOTOR VEHICLE. Apphcatmn filed Dec 16, 1599 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No llddel.)

INVENTOR.

Raymund M Owen,

WITNESSES.-

YBY

A-f/ ORNEV.

THE News PETERS co. PNOTO-LAYNO.. VJAfl-BNGYOH, a c

Parent rrrc'n.

RAYMOND M. OWEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,486, dated June 26, 1900.

Application filed December 19, 1899. Serial No. 740,905. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND M. OWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automobile vehicles, and has for its object improvement in the mechanism for transmitting power in carriages, wagons, boats, &c., which are driven by a suitable motor carried on board; and it consists in improved means for changing and controlling the speed and for starting, stopping, and reversing the motion of the vehicle.

The said improvements as applied to a motor-wagon are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motor-wagon with part of the body thereof broken away, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with part of the body broken away to show the transmission mechanism. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the motor-shaft and counter-shaft with the transmission mechanism shown in section thereon. Fig. 4: is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing the clutch mechanism. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the slide-block and forked elbowlever which operate the clutches. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 3, showing the reversing-gear.

The reference letter or represents the body of a motor-wagon, which may be of any suitable or convenient form and may be covered or open-topped, as desired. At least one seat should be provided, as shown at b. A frame, preferably resting upon springs, supports the body and the greater portion of the mechanism and consists of side rails c and d, suitably connected together at their ends and by cross-pieces, such as e and f. The drivingaxle gcarries the two rear wheels of the vehicle and is provided with the usual compensating gear at h, on which the sprocket-wheel i is preferably, though not necessarily, mounted. The front axle and steering mechanism may be of any style adaptable to the wagon; but struts, such asj, Fig. 1, should be provided to join the front and rear axles.

A motor is secured to one side of the frame in such a position that its main shaft 1 extends across the wagon parallel to the rear axle. Said motor is preferably a gasolene-engine; but any motor fitted to the service required of it maybe employed. A fly-wheel m is shown on themotor-shaft, and the out board end of said shaft is supported by a pedestal n, resting on the frame.

Suspended from the motor-shaft by rods 0 and p and braced to the rear axle by adjustable struts q and r is a counter-shaft s, on

which is secured a sprocket-wheel i, carrying a sprocket-chain M, which drives the rear axle through the medium of the sprocket-wheel t' and the compensating gear. The said rods 0 and p and struts q and r have loose bearings at both ends, so that the counter-shaft may swing somewhat around the motor-shaft when the frame is raised or depressed in relation to the axles. Both of the struts q and r are made in two parts, joined by sleeves or turnbuckles having right and left handed screw-threads and lock-nuts, as shown, for the purpose of regulating the tension of the sprocket-chain.

Mounted upon the motor-shaft is a pinion -11 and a larger toothed gear-wheel a, engaging, respectively, with the toothed wheels 10 and y, which are arranged to run loosely on the counter-shaft when the wagon is at rest; but either wheel may be clamped to the counter-shaft by means of a light and effective friction clutch mechanism, which I will now proceed to describe, thus driving the vehicle forward at either one of two different speeds,

. according as one or the other of the said wheels is made to revolve the cOuntershaft.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4., it will be noticed that the wheel w is journaled loosely upon a sleeve 2, which sleeve is keyed to the countor-shaft. The wheelw carries securely fastened to it, concentric with the shaft, a clutch ring 1, encircled by a band 2, preferably of steel, sprung into position,so that its tendency is to open out away from the ring and secured at one end to the laterally-projecting end of the lever-arm 3. The other end of the said band is secured to an adj usting-bolt 5, provided with nuts and passing through an eye in the end of the lever-arm 4, similar and opposed to the arm 3. The said band may be lined with leather or other suitable material to increase its adhesion. The said leverarms are fulcrumed, respectively, on pins 6 the lever-arms of the respective clutches are directly opposite each other.

A slid e -block 13,key ed;to the cou nter-shaft,

but free to slide endwise thereon between the clutches, is provided with a circumferential groove to engage an operating-lever and has two wedge-shaped arms 14: and 15, projecting oppositely lengthwise of" the shaft and so locatedzthat whenthe block is movedal'ong theshaf-t thesharp edge of one of the wedges entersbet-ween the rollers on thearms of one of the clutches and forces themapart until the armof theslide-block has enteredso far thatnthe rollers'bear against thefiat parallel sidesoii said arm, min Fig.- 3, in which positiontthe clutch-band is drawn tightly about the'ri'ng, andtheslide-block has notendency to release*it, thus-clamping either the gearw-lieel w or the wheely, according as the slideblock isforced toward the one or theother,

to the counter-shaft.

A- reversing-arrangement is provided Working,preferabl'y,in conjunction with the hi gherspeedimechanism; as herein shown; but it'is possibleandquitefeasible to attach it to the lower-speed mechanism and in either case-to proportion the gearingso as to produce a desirable rat'eof speed. A pinion 16, Figs. 3 and 6, mounted loosely upon the countershaft, is'rigidly attached by screw-threads or other means to the gear-wheel y. A- shaft 17 is journal'ed in a bearing on the-endof; an arm 18, which arm encircles and is firmly keyed to-thecounter-shaft and is provided with a counterweight tobal'ance the said bearing, shaft, andgears thereon; shaftis keyedatoothedwheel 19, engaging witlttlie pinion-16,- andon the other endis keyedLa-pinion 20. A toothed Wheel 21, fit

ted to run'loosely upon the counter-shaft and engage wit'l'rtheipiniou 20, has boltedor other-wise firmly attached to it a f riction-rin g 22, groovedto receivea band-brake, in a similar manner to the clutch-rings before described;

Iioosely mounted nponajournal extraneous to-the counter-shaft, but preferably upon the motor-shaft, as shown, is a hub 23, carrying an operating-arm 24: and'a shorter arm 25. A friction brake-band 26 of similar material andfconstruction to the clutch-bands before describedis passed around the ring 22 and hasoneend hinged to the arm 24- and the othenend-hinged to thearm 25in such'mananen'as'shown, sothat said" arm24, being revol'ved'thronghan angle ofa-few degrees toward-the--rear,z,draws the said band tightly about the ring;

Pivot'ed with suitable means for adjustment On one end ofsaid to-the-cross-piece e isran-elbow-lever 27, one

.armot'f which is forked and provided with pins to engage the groove in the slide-block 13. An. operating-lever 28 is fulcrnmed at 29 in a position conveniently accessible from ,theseat-,,and its lower-end is hinged to a con necting-rodBO, which rod' has means for adjusting its length and is hinged at its other fiend to thelaterally-projectin g arm of the elbow-lever 27. A segment 31, attached to the body of the vehicle, is provided with a notch :to-vengage azspringrlatch 32ion theupper end ;of; the lever and hold said lever midway of its stroke, in which position the slide-block 13 does not engage with either clutch.

The reversing-lever 33 isf'ulcrumedto the gframe at 34and when not in use is-held close :to the seat by the spring:socket 35.- Its lower :end is connected bysuitable hinge-jointsand arod or'pipe 36 with the, end of the-arm 24; L In the operation of the-vehicle, the motor ghaving been startedwithithe-lever28 locked linits central-position, should it be desired to go ahead slowly the lever 28 is moved forjward,,thus forcing the slide-block13bet'ween jthe clutch-levers 3 and 4; thereby clamping jthe wheel'w'to thecounter-shaft'. W hen the said lever 28is moved backward beyond" the notch in thesegmen t, the slide blockis forced- ?between theclutch levers 1O and 1i, therebyjcl'amping the wheel'y-to the counter-shaft,in which event the vehicle, will run at itszhigh :speed forward. Should it b,e;desiredto"r.-un lthevehicle backward; the lever-33ispushed Lforward, which rocks the hub 23 and tightens the brake-band 26, thereby liolding-the'ring 2, with its gear-wheel 21, fromrevolving; but the shaft 17 being revolvedthrough-the jgear-wheels 19, 16, 'y, andw, and its pinion 20being-in engagement with the wheel21, which is held stationary the said-shaftforces the arm 18 to revolve itself 'andthe counter isliaft-ina backward direction, thustcausing the'vehicle to run backwarda Other modes of applyingtheprincipl'es of' my invention may be substituted for the lmodes herein-explained; Ghange may therefore be'made-in the details of the mechanism 5- disclosed; provided the principles of construction set forth, respectively, i n'the following claims'are employedi I thereforeparticularly point ou t anddistinctly claim as myinvention 1. Thecombination, withamotonshaft', a counter-shaft suspended" therefrom, wheels mounted loosely on the counter-shaft and driven at .different'speeds by themotor-shaft, and means forrevolving the axle or drivingshaft ofthevehiclefrom the counter-shaft, of-suitable clutch mechanisms whereby either 'of the-saiddriven'wheels'maybe clamped'to or released fromthe counter-shaft, and-a re- Versing-gear consisting of" a gear-wheel fastened to one of the said drivenwheels, agearwheelmounted loosely on the counter-shaft, two intermediate gear wheel's havinga common journal in-an arm secured to the coun= tor-shaft and engaging respectively with the aforesaid gear-wheels, and means whereby the said loosely-mounted gear-wheel may be held from revolving or released at will, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a shaft and a driven Wheel mounted loosely thereon, of a toothed gear-wheel fastened to said driven wheel concentric with the shaft, an arm secured to the shaft, a gear-wheel mounted loosely on said shaft, two intermediate gear- Wheels havingacommon journal in said arm and engaging respectively with the aforesaid gear-Wheels, and means whereby the said loosely-mounted gear-wheel may be held from revolving or released at will, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a shaft and a driven wheel. mounted loosely thereon, of a toothed gear-wheel fastened to said driven wheel concentric with the shaft, an arm secured to the shaft, a gear-wheel mounted loosely on said shaft provided with a frictionring, two intermediate gear-wheels having a common journal in said arm and engaging respectively with the aforesaid gear-wheels, a band encircling said friction-ring and held from revolving therewith, and means whereby said band may be tightened about the ring or released at the will of the operator, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a motor-shaft, a counter-shaft suspended therefrom, and a Wheel mounted loosely on said counter-shaft driven by a wheel on the motor-shaft, of a toothed gear-wheel fastened to said driven wheel, a gear-Wheel provided with a frictionring mounted loosely on the counter-shaft,

two intermediate gear-wheels having a common journal in an arm secured to the counter-shaft and engaging respectively with the aforesaid gear-wheels, a hub loosely mounted on the motor-shaft and provided with suitable arms, a band encircling the said friction-ring having its ends hinged respectively to the arms of the said hub, and an operating-lever connected with one arm of said hub whereby the hub may be revolved sufficiently to tighten or loosen the band about the ring, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a shaft carrying a sleeve, and a driven wheel rotatably mounted thereon provided with a clutch-ring on one side and a toothed gear-wheel on the other side thereof both concentric With the shaft, of a pair of lever-arms fulcrumed to the said sleeve extending outwardly and over the clutch-ring, a friction-band sprung around the said ring with its ends hinged respectively to the outer ends of the said lever-arms, a suitable wedge revolving with the shaft,

means for forcing said wedge between the inner ends of the lever-arms and releasing the same, a gear-Wheel mounted loosely on the shaft, two intermediate gear-wheels having a common journal in an arm secured to the shaft and engaging respectively with the aforesaid gear-Wheels, and means whereby the said loosely-mounted gear-wheel may be held from revolving or released at will, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a shaft carrying a sleeve, and a driven wheel rotatably mounted thereon provided with a suitable clutchring, of two lever-arms each opposed to the other fulcru med to the said sleeve and extendin g outwardly and over the clutch-ring, a friction-band sprung around the said ring with its ends hinged respectively to the outer ends of the said lever-arms, a suitable wedge revolving with the shaft, and means for forcing said Wedge between the inner ends of said lever-arms and releasing the same, substan''- tially as set forth.

7. The combination, with a shaft, a sleeve secured thereon, and a driven wheel rotatably mounted on the sleeve provided with a suitable clutch-ring, of two leverarms each opposed to the other fulcrumed to the sleeve and extending outwardly and over the clutch-ring, a friction-band sprung around the said ring the ends of which are hinged respectivelyto the outer ends of the said lever-arms,a block fitted to slide upon but revolve with the said shaft provided with a Wedge-shaped arm adapted to be forced between the inner ends of the said lever-arms, and suitable means for operating said block, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a shaft, and a driven wheel rotatably mounted thereon provided with a suitable clutch-ring, of a sleeve secured to the shaft, two lever-arms each opposed to the other fulcrumed to the said sleeve and extending outwardly and over the clutchring, a friction-band sprung around. the said ring having one end hinged to one of said lever-arms,an adj usting-bolt hinged to the other end of said band passing through an eye in the end of the other lever-arm and secured by nuts, a block fitted to slide upon but revolve with the said shaft provided with a Wedgeshaped arm adapted to be forced between the inner ends of the said lever-arms, and suitable means for operating said block, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with a shaft, sleeves secured thereon, and Wheels driven at difierent speeds rotatably mounted respectively on the said sleeves and provided with clutchrings on their inside faces, of pairs of leverarms fulcrumed opposite each other to the inside flanges, of said sleeves extending outwardly and over the respective clutch-rings, friction-bands sprung around the said rings each having its ends hinged respectively to the outer ends of a pair of saidlever-arms, a block fitted to slide upon but revolve with said shaft provided with Wedge-shaped arms adapted to be forced respectively between the inner ends of the said pairs of lever-arms, and suitable means for operating said block, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with a shaft, sleeves secured thereon, and wheels driven at difierent speeds rotatably mounted respectively on the said sleeves and provided with clutchrings on their inside faces, of pairs of leverarms fulcrumed opposite each other to the inside flanges of said sleeves extending outwardly and over the respective clutch-rings, friction-bands sprung around the said rings each having its ends hinged respectively to the outer ends of a pair of said lever-arms, a block fitted to slide upon but revolve with said shaft provided with wedge-shaped arms adapted to be forced respectively between the inner ends of the said pairs of lever-arms and provided with a circumferential groove, an

elbow-lever fulcrumed to the frame having one arm forked and engaging the groove in the said slide-block, an operating-lever provided with suitable connections with the other arm of said elbow-lever, and means for looking said operating-lever in its central position, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, at Cleveland, Ohio, December 16, 1899.

RAYMOND M; OWEN.

Witnesses:

E. P. DEGALLIEN, GEO. L. COLBURN; 

